Picture this: You wake up before a big presentation with a growling stomach and two missions on your morning checklist — print your notes at the library and grab breakfast at your favorite dining hall. So which comes first? Don’t flip a coin. Print the script now, fuel later. Your stomach won’t let you forget breakfast, but your printer just might let you forget your lines.

In grade school, we learned a comforting symmetry: AxB = BxA. But in real life, order isn’t so forgiving; the order in which we do things — act, decide or even think — changes the outcome. Sequence is strategy.

We make sequencing decisions all the time, often without noticing. During exam season, we tackle the hardest exams first, giving them the most time and attention, leaving the easier ones for later. When Trumbull’s dining room looks crowded — yes, it happens — we save a seat before grabbing food, knowing that tables vanish faster than five spice chicken. The reasons why we make these choices vary, so let’s explore a few.

As in the script-and-breakfast example, one such first principle is forgetfulness. If you need to grab an umbrella before an expected afternoon rainstorm and use the bathroom, grab the umbrella first — biology will make sure you don’t skip the other task. Or, if you need to email a professor and put on shoes, send the email first, so that you don’t accidentally ignore your professor; I doubt you’ll end up wandering Elm Street barefoot. In short, when faced with two choices, prioritize the one you’re more likely to forget. Sequence can determine whether both get done at all.

Other times, order matters because of deadlines or irreversibility. If you board the Metro-North train before checking your emails, no problem: You can deal with them as the train rattles toward New York— and trust me, you will have time! But if you check your emails first and lose track of time, you may miss the train entirely. The same logic applies to catching planes, applying for jobs, or submitting  papers before a deadline. Some tasks are time or place dependent, others aren’t. Wisdom means knowing which is which.

Course selection is full of AB/BA dilemmas, as we learn during registration. When we race to register for courses, what should you be prioritizing when the clock strikes 8 a.m.? To take advantage of scarcity, you should be going after the courses, or sections, that are hardest to get — you can always fill in less selective ones later. Life rewards those who plan around and remove bottlenecks. Suppose you’re a first year choosing between two classes that both satisfy a prerequisite for your preferred major, but one is also a prerequisite for another major that is inviting. Take that one first — it buys you flexibility.

Another sequencing strategy comes from the law of diminishing returns. Suppose you have been stuck on one task for hours — do you keep grinding or switch tasks and return later? Often, taking a break is smarter. We’ve all faced it: It’s 2 a.m. in the library, and you’ve been studying for hours. Do you power through or sleep now and continue in the morning? Economics 1115 would suggest sleep first; returns diminish the longer you push, but a break resets the curve. The right sequence can help us optimize not just what tasks we do, but how well we do them.

The list of AB/BA strategies is long: Do stabilizing activities first — eat lunch before your meeting, so that you don’t get hangry. Do easy tasks first, to build momentum, or the opposite, to knock out the hardest ones early. As Mark Twain memorably advised, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning.” 

These choices abound, but there is no universal rule. What matters is recognizing these AB/BA moments and choosing intentionally. The right answer often depends on your personal operating system. Night owls may want to power through at 2 a.m.! So do as the Oracle at Delphi directed and know thyself.

I try to follow these sequencing strategies. In fact, I had another article idea on the drawing board, but I decided to write this one first. Stay tuned and let me know if I chose right.

SHAYE KIRMAN is a sophomore in Trumbull College studying Ethics, Politics and Economics. He can be reached at shaye.kirman@yale.edu.